The Virus
by clairebear97
Summary: Among us there are vampires and humans, but what happens if there is something else? Something even dangerous for the vampires... Where are they appearing from? Why? [Work of Aliciaaa98]
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

Claire woke with a start, to a scream. She jumped out of bed, tripping over her blankets in the dark and fumbled for the doorknob. She swung her door open, and saw Shane and Michael running down the stairs. She sprinted to follow them. She didn't see Eve at all and panic surged through her.

They ran into the kitchen and Claire skidded to a halt when she saw Eve was pinned down by some sort of creature. Shane disappeared into the living room and Michael launched himself at the thing, knocking it off of Eve. Claire grabbed Eve under her arms, and pulled her a safe distance from the fight. Shane ran back in, carrying something, but Claire was too preoccupied checking Eve for injury to notice. Once she realized Eve was okay, she stood up to find a way to help Michael.

"No!" Eve squealed, pulling her back onto the floor. Claire saw that Shane was holding a gun, and he was aiming it at the thing that had Michael pinned down.

"SHOOT IT!" Michael roared over the things gurgling and growling.

"I'll hit you! I can't!" Shane yelled back, terror showing in his eyes.

"Now!" Michael shouted, putting his feet against the things chest and launched it away from him. A shot rang out, and Claire clapped her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming. The thing made a horrible screeching noise and fell to the ground.  
>Michael got up and backed away from the unmoving body, breathing hard. Shane set the gun on the counter, carefully, and sat against the door. He looked a little shaken.<p>

Claire got up, Michael taking her place next to Eve. She was vaguely aware that she was only wearing the oversized tee (it was Shane's, actually) she'd fallen asleep in. She made her way over to the thing and crouched down to get closer to the thing, careful to make sure she was covered semi-appropriately.

"I don't think you should get that close to it, Claire." She ignored Shane's warning. The thing looked human, but its body was bloated. It stank of rotting meat, and she held her breath. Claire could see bite marks on its neck.

"Someone bit... him," she said, guessing it was a male from its lack of hair.

Nearly hysterical, Eve laughed. "Oh, he's a man? What should we call him? Doug? George? I think I like Phil."

"Well, Phil's been bitten by a vampire. A few times." Claire noticed more bites on the arms. She cautiously poked the purple skin on its ankle, and squealed when her finger sank into Phil's flesh. She wiped her finger on her shirt and asked no one, specifically, "What is it?"  
>She didn't expect an answer, but Shane said, "It's a zombie."<p>

**A/N: So, hey everyone- you guys may have read this before but this is the amazing Aliciaa98's work- NOT MINE. I am simply posting it for her on my account.**

**Please review, it would mean a lot to both Alicia and I, much love fellow fanfic'ers 3 **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:  
>"A what?!" Claire, Shane, and Eve all asked, spinning to face Shane.<p>

He rolled his eyes and said, "A zombie. You know, Night of the Living Dead?"

Claire tried to compare the zombies from Shane's video games, to Phil. The video game zombies just shuffled around, aimlessly. Claire wasn't sure that Phil was a zombie. He was strong. He was able to pin down Michael. Vampire Michael. Claire's thoughts were cut short, because Phil started moving and groaning. Before she could even react, she felt the back of her shirt being yanked. She was pulled up to her feet and another loud shot rang. Phil collapsed again, a bloody hole in the side of his head.

"I told you not to get close to it, Claire!" Shane spun her around and shook her shoulders.

"Sorry. I just wanted to see what it was," she replied, scooting closer to him, forgetting that she almost got attacked.

"Uh, guys," Eve cut them off, standing up. "Maybe you should make out later. When there isn't a zombie lying on our kitchen floor. We should figure out what we're gonna do."

"I'm gonna make a call. I don't think we should stay in here with that thing." Michael said.  
>Claire ran upstairs to put on more suitable clothing. She pulled on pants and put on a regular sized black tee, checking the time on her alarm clock. It was 5:24 a.m. The sun would be rising soon. Claire could see the red and blue lights of a police cruiser reflecting against the house from her window. She ran back downstairs. Everyone had moved to the living room. Claire couldn't sit down, she started pacing.<p>

"I called Hannah. She said she'd be here soon. I tried to get Amelie, but Bizzie said she was out." Michael explained to Claire.

"Good. Did either of them know what they are?" She gestured to the kitchen.

"They're zombies." Shane said.

"How is that possible?!" Claire yelled, throwing her hands up. If she wasn't terribly confused, she would've laughed at the expressions on her housemates faces. "A town run by vampires, I can deal with. Ghosts, I can deal with. Shane's short stint as a werewolf, I can deal with. Zombies? No. It's not possible. That thing in there was as strong as Michael. It's like a vampire or something." She ran out of steam to rant anymore. She sat down on the couch in between Eve and Shane.

She twisted the ring around her finger. It had barely been a month since the wedding. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Michael got up to open it.

"Sorry." she mumbled to Shane. He put his arm around her and said,"It's alright. You get to freak out every once in awhile. Eve does it at least three times a day."

"Bite me, Collins." Eve said, giving him the bird.

"Oh, my God! Where are my shoes?! Where are my keys?! I'm gonna be late for work!" Shane said, in his best Eve voice.

"At least I have a car. And a job." Eve held out her fist to Claire, who bumped it.

"I have a job, in case you haven't noticed. I don't dress in an apron and rubber boots, willingly, Gothica." he said.

Eve was about to say something, but shut her mouth when Hannah and Amelie came in. Amelie sat in Michael's recliner, like a lady should. Crossed ankles, hands on her lap and back straight. Claire, realizing how bad her posture was at the moment, straightened up. "What's going on?" she asked.

Hannah said, "Well, we've got a problem."

"Really?" Shane asked, sarcastically, and Claire hit his arm.

"Where is it?" Hannah asked.

"In the kitchen. What is it?" Claire replied.

"I don't know. We've killed at least five." She turned away to say something in the radio clipped to her uniform.  
>"Claire." Amelie said, speaking for the first time.<p>

"Yes?" Claire turned to Amelie.

"Something is happening," was all she said.

Well, obviously, Claire thought. "What do you mean? You know what they are, don't you?"

"Someone is trying to change humans into vampires, but they do not know how. The bodies get stuck in between human and vampire. So, they are pretty much..." For the first time ever, Claire saw that Amelie was at a loss for words.

"Zombies?" Shane supplied.

"Zombies." Amelie repeated, slowly.

"So, who's doing this?" Claire asked, becoming irritated with the word "zombie".

"We have yet to find out. They're doing it out of Morganville. They are getting through our borders without being noticed." Amelie said.  
>Hannah went to the front door and opened it, letting in three more people with a stretcher and a body bag. They disappeared into the kitchen, and came back a few minutes later, with Phil in the bag. The three went back out the front door.<p>

"How'd you kill it?" Hannah asked, looking tired.

"Shot it. In the neck first, then in the head." Shane answered.

"Nice shot. Went straight through," Hannah complemented. Shane beamed, happy that someone noticed his shooting skills.

"So, what do we do?" Michael asked, running a hand through his hair.

"We have to wait, for now. Stay inside. No school, no work, nada. Especially you, Claire. Don't go out charging, trying to save the day. We have no idea what these things are or what they can do. Got it?" Hannah asked. They nodded. "Alright, get some sleep."

Claire walked them to the door, then followed Shane up to her room. She fell back asleep, curled against his chest.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Claire woke up and Shane wasn't in bed. She heard voices downstairs, so she figured he was down there. She rolled out of bed, and fixed her blankets a little bit. She went into the kitchen, where Eve and Shane were arguing. There was still blood on the floor.  
>"Where's Michael?" Claire asked, interrupting them. Eve slid a piece of paper over to her.<p>

Amelie called. Be back soon. -M.

"We have to go see if he's okay." Eve said.

"He's fine. Let's just wait a little bit. If he's not home by sundown, we'll go for him" Shane said.

"Fine." Eve stomped out of the kitchen.

Shane grabbed the orange juice carton from the fridge, and drank it.

"We do have cups, Shane." Claire said, smiling. He burped in reply. "Neanderthal," she laughed, as he gave her his best puppy dog face.  
>"So, what are we going to do today?" he asked.<p>

"I'm going to study. I have exams next week," she said, walking out of the kitchen.

"I guess I'll just stay here and clean this up!" he called after her.

Claire dragged her backpack to the couch and pulled out a textbook. As she was reading, she began to smell something funny. Shane backed out of the kitchen, retching.

"What happened?!" Claire asked, jumping up.

"I was trying to get the damn blood off the floor and bleach wasn't working. I mixed it in a bucket with water and ammonia. I thought it would work. I don't know what happened!" he said.

Claire ran into the kitchen, holding her breath. She saw the bucket and dragged it outside. When she came back inside, Eve was opening windows. Shane was sitting on the couch, still coughing.

"What the hell was that?" he asked, looking to Claire for an answer.

"Bleach and ammonia combine and make a gas called chloramine. It's what was used to gas people in the concentration camps." she explained.

"Good job, idiot. You almost gassed us." Eve said.

Claire walked over to Shane and pushed his head back. She held his eye open, examining it. It was really red and he was still coughing. "You need to see a doctor. We're going to the hospital."

"No, I'm fine." he coughed.

"You're going. Your lungs need to be checked. I'm getting my shoes." Claire said, running up the stairs. She grabbed her shoes and opened her window. Before she could even react, something hit her in the head, knocking her unconscious.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

" Good morning," an eerily familiar voice greeted her.

She didn't say anything, mostly because there was duct tape on her mouth. "You're probably wondering why you're here right now," the voice said. A flashlight clicked on and Claire saw a pale face that belonged to Jason Rosser, smiling at her. He turned the light on her, and said, "I need your help."

She knew better than to scream or fight, so she looked at him curiously.

"Oh, let me help with that." he said and yanked the tape from her face. She bit her tongue, to keep from shouting at him. It wouldn't do her any good, Jason was a vampire. He could easily kill her.

"What do you want?"

He tapped the side of her head. "I need what's inside there. You saw the book. What's in it?"

She was confused for a second, then remembered. The book that got her into trouble when she first came to Morganville. The one on...  
>Oh, my God, she thought. Jason's trying to make more vampires.<p>

"I don't know," she answered, honestly. "I didn't read it."

"Don't lie to me. I know you saw what it said." His nose was practically touching hers. His breath reeked of blood.

"I really don't know-" Her head snapped back and she realized that he slapped her. Aggravated, she began to struggle against the bonds, but it was useless.

"I can't read it! It's not even in English!" she yelled. "Why do you even want to know?!"

"Because," he said, calmly, "I'm tired of being treated like I'm nothing. It happened when I was a human, and I thought it would get better, when I changed. But, no. So, I'll make some of my own vamps and they'll follow me. Only me. I can take over Morganville. And you're gonna help me. You're gonna find out how to change them, because it's not working. I get these brainless, half-alive retards. You're gonna go back, and find out how. I. Do. It."

Claire shook her head. There was no way she was going to help Jason. He pulled something from his pocket and held it in the light, where she could see it. It was a pocket knife. The same one, Claire realized, that he had stabbed Shane with. He plunged it into her arm, just under her wrist. She screamed and it echoed.

"You help me, or I go after Eve and Shane and Michael," He pulled the knife out, agonizingly slow. The last thing she saw was his fist coming towards her face.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

When Claire woke up, again, she saw that she was sleeping outside. In the dark. Not a good idea in Morganville. The bench she was lying on was hard and cold. She was at a playground. She sat up and felt blood rush to her head. Her eye felt swollen and her arm was bleeding. She stood up, carefully, and checked herself over for injury. Nothing else was hurt, except for her head. She was pretty sure she had a concussion.

She began shuffling away from the park, onto the dark street. With every step she took, her head blossomed with pain. Claire stopped to figure out what she was going to do. Did she try to find her way home or knock on someone's door and hope they let her in? She decided on the latter. She stopped in front of a small white house. The lights were still on, so she knocked on the door. She felt lightheaded as the door opened. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she saw it was one of the girls from school. She was friends with Monica. Her name was Devin, or something like that. Claire was scared that she would shut the door on her face.

"Oh, my God! Claire! Are you okay?" Devin pulled Claire into the house shutting the door behind her.

"I'm okay." Claire said, but Devin told her to sit and ran off. She came back and ushered Claire to her car. She drove, repeatedly asking if Claire was okay.

"S***, Danvers. What happened?" she asked, her arm across Claire's chest, to keep her from slumping forward.  
>"Collins," Claire mumbled.<p>

"What?"

"My name's not Danvers, anymore. It's Collins." Claire corrected her.

"Oh, yeah. You got married. Congrats. Wait- did Shane do this?" Devin turned to stare at Claire.

"No. He would never." Claire answered, a little slow.

"So, what the hell happened?"

Claire stayed quiet until they got to the hospital.

Devin asked, as they carted Claire away in a wheelchair, "You'll be okay by yourself, right?"

Claire nodded, which was a bad idea, because it felt like her brain was rattling. "Can you just call Shane, please? Let him know I'm okay."

Devin nodded and left.

Claire had to get an MRI, which wasn't uncomfortable, just claustrophobic. Turns out, she did have a concussion. Her eye would be swollen for a few days. The doctor stitched up her arm and bandaged it, too. So now, she was laying on a hospital bed, staring at the fuzzy picture on the TV screen.

There was a needle in her arm, pushing blood into her body, because she lost a lot. Nurses occasionally checked on her, but wouldn't allow her to use the phone.

She desperately needed to call Shane, to tell her she was okay. And to make sure he was okay, from the chloramine.

She considered getting up out of bed, but the bottom of her feet were cut up, because she walked without shoes. She tried to concentrate on the TV, hoping Devin had called Shane.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

SHANE  
>I paced around the living room, coughing occasionally, because my throat still burned. We were supposed to go to the damn hospital, but Claire disappeared. I went to check if she was okay, about 10 minutes after she skipped up the stairs to grab her shoes. Her door was closed, so I knocked. There was no answer. I got scared that she had passed out from the gas I had created. I opened the door and she wasn't in there. Her shoes were on the floor. I checked the bathroom, my room, Eve's room, Michael's room, even the secret room. She wasn't there. I started to freak out then. I yelled at Eve to call Michael. Maybe the crazy b*** Myrnin came and took her. He's done it before.<p>

I took Eve's car, not stopping at stop signs and driving way over speed limit, until I got into the alley where he lived. I bailed out, not even taking the keys from the ignition. Nobody wants to steal a goddamn hearse, I figured. I ran down the alley, with my cell phone at my ear, calling Claire's phone. It rang and rang until finally someone answered.

"Claire! Where the hell-" I started but was cut off.

"Shane. Shane!" Eve's voice said through the speaker. "Her phone's here. She left it."

"Did you talk to Michael?" I asked , kicking the door of Myrnin's shack.

"Yeah, he said- Are you hitting something?" she asked.

"I'm breaking a door down. What'd he say?" I finally knocked the door off its hinges. I practically flew down the stairs.

She continued as if that wasn't the craziest thing she's ever heard from me, but I realized it wasn't. "Amelie called all of the vampires for a meeting. She figured the ones who didn't show had something to do with the zombies."

"And? Who didn't show?" I asked, flicking on lights only to find the place empty.

"Everyone showed. Except for Jason and Oliver."

"So, it's one of them. S***. What if they have Claire?" I spun and took the stairs two at a time.

"They don't," Eve tried to comfort me, unsuccessfully. "She's probably just with Myrnin or something."

"She's not with him, Eve. I just busted his door down and no one's there." I got it in the car and put it in drive.

"Shane, just come home. Michael's here. We'll figure something out."

I would've refused, but I had no other idea where she was. I drove home, pissed off. The sun eventually set, and Claire still wasn't home. Eve was sitting on the couch, biting her nails. Michael was watching me.

"I'm gonna go look for her." I said.

"No, it's dark. I don't want you out there alone. Especially with those zombies out there." Michael said.

"She could be out there alone!" I yelled. "She could be dying somewhere and we're just sitting here!" I stalked to the front door and stepped out into the cool night. Just as I was about to slam in shut behind me, in true Shane style, the phone rang. I sprinted back into the house, and snatched the phone out of Eve's hand.

"Hello? Claire?" I asked, hoping.

A female voice answered, "Uh, no. It's Devin. This is Shane, right?"

I deflated. It wasn't Claire. I remembered Devin from high school, she was a junior when I was a freshman. "Yeah, it's me."

"Thank god. Listen, I just dropped Claire off at the hospital. She showed up at my door looking like a mess. She was bleeding and she looked like she got punched in the face. She wanted me to call and tell you where she was."

"Thanks." I hung up the phone, my stomach clenched and grabbed Eve's keys. "Let's go. She's in the hospital."

Standing outside the door of Claire's room was the crazy old bat, Myrnin. I pushed past him, but he grabbed me.

"The Founder is in there. You must wait." he said.

"Get out of the way." I said, yanking my arm from his grip. It didn't work; he was still holding on to me. I glared at him, and he only stared back. I wanted to hit him in the face, so bad. My hands were shaking.

The door swung open, and Amelie stared, waiting for me to move. I stepped out of the way. She looked infuriated. Without saying anything to us, she turned and walked down the hall; Myrnin was on her heels.

I rushed into the room, and stumbled when I saw Claire. Bruises painted her cheek and eye purple. The parts of her face that weren't bruised were pale.

"Hi," she said, waving awkwardly, like the first day she came into the house. "Are you okay?" she asked, when I coughed.

"Am I ok?" I asked, incredulously. How could she worry about me, when her eye was practically swollen shut. I pulled a chair as close to the bed as possible and sat down. "What happened?"

Her eyes flicked to Eve then back to me. She shifted to get more comfortable, wincing. Eve sat at the foot of the bed, "Claire, who did this?"

"It's Jason. I'm sorry, Eve."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven:

Eve's face was expressionless. She didn't move or say anything. Claire wasn't even sure she heard her. Eve shook her head, and wiped tears from her eyes, angrily.

"It's whatever." she said, trying to sound passive. "So, Claire, what happened?"

Claire reluctantly told them, watching each of their expressions. Eve remained blank, while Shane's eyes burned with hate. A nurse came in eventually to switch the bag of blood for another. Claire closed her eyes and pretended to fall asleep. Shane and Michael whispered to each other, talking about getting some food. The two of them eventually got up, asking Eve if she wanted to eat.

"I'm fine. I'll just stay here," she said, quietly.

Once Claire had heard the door close, she opened her eyes and turned to Eve.

"I'm sorry, Claire."

"For what? You didn't do anything." Claire saw tears in Eve's eyes.

Eve climbed over Claire's legs and lied down next to her. Claire held her with her good arm. Crying silently, Eve held on to Claire until her sobs died down.

Shane and Michael came back a few minutes later without food, to Claire's disappointment.

"I thought you were getting food." Eve said, sitting up.

"The city is on lock down. No one in, no one out. There's more of those things." Shane said. He turned his head away to cough. "I know I like my zombie games, but this is crazy."

"So, no food?" Claire tried to not sound disappointed, but she was hungry.

"Nope." Michael lowered himself into a chair. Shane pulled a chair to the side of Claire's bed and sat down, clumsily.

"You okay?" Eve asked.

"I'm fine. Stop asking."

"Jeez, I was just trying to see if you were okay," she rolled her eyes.

"Well, I said that I'm fine."

A knock on the door stopped them. "Come in." Claire called. The doctor who had sewed her arm came in. He was a thin, graying man, but he was really nice. His name was like Dr. Reed, or something like that.

"I just wanted to let you know your MRI results came back. Just a small concussion. I would say we can send you home, but no ones leaving. I can take you off of the IV, though, if you would like," he said.

Claire nodded eagerly, holding her arm out to him, as he removed tape and tubes from her arm. He tried to make friendly conversation, telling Claire about his son who would be going to Caltech next year.

"I told him," Dr. Reed was saying, "living alone is hard. Especially when you're so far away-"

Shane coughed, and was wheezing a little bit.

The doctor looked up from Claire's arm and asked, "You okay, son?"

"Fine." Shane sounded breathless.

"Alright, stand up," Dr. Reed told Claire, pulling her up gently. When she was up he asked, " How're you feeling?"

"A little dizzy, but I'm okay."

"Okay, dizziness is normal. If your vision starts getting blurry, let me know."

Claire felt Shane stand up behind her and he rested his hand on her shoulder. He said, "We'll take care of her, Doc." His voice was shaky. She felt his hand go limp and his weight against her. She spun around, just as Eve yelled, "Shane!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight:

His eyes rolled back and he collapsed into a heap at Claire's feet. She bent down and swallowed the urge to scream and shake him until he woke up. He began convulsing. Eve was screaming. Claire wanted to scream, too, but Dr. Reed was asking her questions.

"Does he have a history of seizures?" He turned Shane on his side and ordered her to hold his head still.

"No, I don't think so!" She remembered the chloramine. It could cause seizures. "Chloramine! He inhaled chloramine, today."

"How?" Dr. Reed was putting an oxygen mask on Shane's mouth.

"He mixed ammonia and bleach when he was cleaning today. I don't know how long he was in there." Shane slowly stopped shaking, and settled, unconscious. Claire felt a pair of hands on her back, trying to pull her away.

"No, I'm staying with him," she said through clenched teeth.

An older lady with grey hair smiled and said, "I promise, he'll be okay. I just need you to step out for a minute."

Claire would've agreed, if Shane hadn't started flopping again.

"No. Please. Just let me stay. Please." she begged as Michael picked her up and carried her away. She pounded on his chest with her fists but it didn't even make him slow down.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine:

EVE  
>I've never hated anyone, as much as I hated my brother. Not even Brandon. Okay, well, maybe they were tied for first place. I couldn't believe that he would do this. He hurt Claire. And he practically wanted to see Morganville crash and burn, including everyone in it. I regretted ever trying to help him. I'd always thought he was better than he truly was. Boy, was I wrong. He wanted to be at the top, not caring who's toes he'd have to step on. Not caring how many bridges he burned. I wanted to believe that he had a heart, but he had nothing but ice running through his veins. He didn't care. He was a lunatic, and honestly, that terrified me. I knew what he was capable of.<p>

And now, he wasn't afraid. He managed to get in and out of Morganville, whenever he pleased. He was turning the town upside down. It made me sick to think he was my brother. My own flesh and blood. White hot rage boiled in me when I saw Claire in that hospital bed, when she said it was him.

I'd never seen Claire completely lose her cool. Until now. She was screaming and kicking. Fighting to get back to Shane. She was on her knees over an unmoving Shane, pushing off the nurses that grabbed her.

I couldn't move. I was frozen. I felt Michael let me go. He picked up Claire with ease, and carried her out of the room, grabbing my hand along the way. He towed us into a waiting room; Claire kicked and hit him, even getting him good in the face once. She eventually gave up and sat in a plastic chair, pulling her legs up and hugging her knees. I sat down next to her and carefully placed my arm around her. She leaned into me. I heard Michael's footsteps walk away, but I didn't lift my head. He came back with coffee for the three of us. Claire put hers down on the table.

At least an hour had passed by and we hadn't heard anything from the doctors. Claire wasn't crying any more. She had eventually gotten up and started pacing.

"I'm sorry," she finally said, when she stopped in front of where Michael and I were sitting.

"For what?" I asked, confused.

"For acting like that. I-"

Michael cut her off. "No, it's fine. You have nothing to apologize for. You're scared. We're all scared. We get it."

She nodded and proceeded to pace. I noticed one of the nurses sitting at the front desk staring at Claire. Claire must've saw her too, because she asked, harshly, "Can I help you?"

The nurse quickly looked down and pretended to busy herself with papers. I stifled a laugh. It was fun to see Claire get angry because she hardly ever did.

Movement caught my attention outside the window. It was still dark outside, so it took me a few seconds to notice someone standing near a tree across the street. I leaned over Michael, trying to figure out who is was. Something glinted in the figures hand. It was a knife. I realized in a panic that it was Jason. I couldn't move. If I did I would lose my cool and chase after him with a stake. I glared at him, and I saw his face lift up in a smile as he stared back.

"For Shane Collins?" Someone asked. I slowly looked away from Jason to see who was talking. It was the nurse who had been staring at Claire.

"Is he okay?"

"He's fine. We're sending him home as soon as we get clearance to open up, probably around sun-up. You can go see him, if you want."

We got up and followed her. When I looked back over my shoulder, Jason was gone.


End file.
